Content warning: Physical violence and mentions of blood

Silver Murat quickly sheathed his qama dagger and leapt out of the way with the half-conscious Ulanbek in his arms as the reddish-white energy beam tore into the forest floor.  The impact was so massive that they were thrown further into the distance as the trees around them were uprooted.  When the smoke cleared, there was a massive crater surrounded by a devastating ring of toppled charred trees.

Silver Murat coughed out a mouthful of dirt and propped himself up.  He had shielded Ulanbek from the brunt of the blast, so his chokha was torn up.  There were gashes up and down his arms and more on his back, and the fabric was sticking to his skin because of the blood.  He glanced at Ulanbek.  The other man was not doing too well either.  He gritted his teeth and laid his hand above the wounds on Ulanbek’s chest.  His palm glowed silver and thin threads protruded from his fingers.  The threads snaked into Ulanbek’s wound and tried to hold the broken flesh together.  Just need to close this so he doesn’t keep losing blood.

He was interrupted by the low-frequency rumble of the mega-wolf’s growl and turned towards it with a scowl.  The mega-wolf was slowly walking towards them.  The energy blast it spat out had drained much of its strength, so it would be a while before it could muster another similar attack.  Nevertheless, it could still use its teeth and claws, or even just its sheer body weight to cause devastation.

He quickly sent out more silver threads to finish suturing Ulanbek’s wound.  Ulanbek was in critical condition and needed to be moved away from danger immediately.  How to do this while the mega-wolf was still lumbering after them?  His ears perked up when he heard a familiar neigh.  Ulanbek’s faithful steed galloped towards them.

”How on earth did you survive all this?” Silver Murat asked.  “You must still have some of the shielding I cast on you earlier.”  The horse stopped in front of them and nudged Ulanbek gently with its nose.  “Yeah, your owner is in pretty bad shape, I have to say.  Do you think you could help carry him to safety?”  The horse looked at him with its deep dark eyes.  Silver Murat patted it on the head.  “You can understand me, right?  I’m not exactly human, so maybe my words might reach deeper into your equine mind?”  

Silver Murat gently lifted Ulanbek and laid him over the horse’s back.  He placed the reins in Ulanbek’s hand in case he needed them.  Ulanbek’s fingers curled weakly around the thin leather strap.  “I don’t know how long you and this human have been together, but you seem pretty loyal to him, so I trust that you’ll keep him out of harm’s way, at least until I deal with this wolf.  Now get going, while you still can.”  The horse gave him one last look and carried Ulanbek further into the wilderness.

Silver Murat turned back towards the mega-wolf.  “Some guardian of the forest you are.  You’re causing just as much destruction as those other humans.”  The mega-wolf snarled and narrowed its nine eyes.  Acidic saliva dripped onto the forest floor.  ”I get your vitriol towards humans, but I am not sure where this drive to eliminate me comes from.  I may not be your ally but I wasn’t necessarily your enemy either.  Of course, now that you have attacked me, I cannot remain neutral.”

The mega-wolf lunged at him, teeth bared and claws splayed out.  Silver Murat leapt into the air and unsheathed his qama.  He sliced through the air and the blade emitted a large glowing crescent-shaped energy blast.  The crescent blast left a gash in the wolf’s chest and crimson spewed over its gray fur.  While levitating in the air, Silver Murat threw a barrage of silver threads at the mega-wolf.  The threads wrapped around its body and cut into its limbs.  Silver Murat squeezed the ends of the threads in his hand and sent electricity through them.  The mega-wolf jerked and threw its head back.  It rotated its body, pulling the threads along with it.  Silver Murat detached himself from the threads so that he would not get dragged down.  The mega-wolf knocked over some nearby trees as it fell to the forest floor with a thud.

Silver Murat landed softly on the ground and looked at the gigantic fallen creature.  He whistled.  “So, it just took a little shock to the system to knock you out, huh?  And here I was thinking that I’d have to-”

The mega-wolf suddenly flipped over and smacked its paw down hard on him.  Silver Murat was pushed into the ground.  The paw became scorching hot and the shielding that was cast around him weakened.  He could not see anything and heard his bones crunch.  Within his body, where the two entities still had separate thoughts, Murat’s mind screamed.  The excruciating pain he felt shook the Silver Sorcerer’s mind to the core.

No! the Silver Sorcerer thought in anguish.  I promised him that he wouldn’t ever get hurt!  Why did the shielding fail?

When the mega-wolf removed its paw, Silver Murat lay there in a small crater, blood running from his mouth and limbs unable to move.  The mega-wolf smirked.

Was that all you got? it asked telepathically.

A blinding white hot flash of light suddenly jumped out of Silver Murat’s body.  It formed a raging ball of silver flame in the air.  With the shriek of a thousand banshees, the silver flame jumped onto the mega-wolf’s fur.  The mega-wolf howled and thrashed back and forth, flailing its limbs as the flame spread to its whole body.

Why do you care so much about this human? the mega-wolf howled telepathically.  You were only using him as a shell.  You could easily find another.

He is not just a shell! the silver flame raged.

The mega-wolf’s nine eyes became dull and lifeless and its body began to flicker.  It separated back into three wolves before finally disintegrating.  Only the nine eyes remained, and they hardened into stone on the forest floor.

The silver flame had diminished to a dim orb.  It floated over Murat and wrapped silver threads around him.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t want you to get hurt like this.”

The gashes on Murat’s back and arms glowed as the threads sewed the wounds shut.  The orb lay on his chest and imbued him with a warmth that permeated through his tissue and set his broken bones back together.  It flickered and became even dimmer as it used up its energy to heal the unconscious human.

There was a whinny and the sound of hooves clopping over leaves.  The orb diverted its attention to the horse returning with the barely conscious Ulanbek.

“Oh, you’ve returned,” the orb remarked, although it had lost most of its usual snark.  “I suppose it’s all the better since your owner is still in critical condition and won’t be able to heal properly on his own.

Ulanbek lifted his head slightly and looked in the orb’s direction.  “Murat…is he…?”

“Dead?” the orb replied.  “Not on my watch!  Although once I’m done healing him and you, I’ll be the one on the last legs of life.”  

The orb continued emitting a warmth over Murat until he finally opened his eyes.  His irises had returned to their normal brown color.  He stared at the sky.  His breathing was shallow and he felt a dull pain all over.  

“The wolf…” he uttered.

“Shhh, save your energy,” the orb said.  “You did very well, Murat.”

After Murat was healed enough so that he could sit up, the orb floated over to Ulanbek.  It wrapped silver threads around him and lifted him off the horse, placing him gently on the ground.  Then it proceeded to do a similar healing process on him.  Ulanbek’s wounds closed up and his breathing became less ragged.

“Thank you,” Ulanbek murmured.

The orb flickered and its light became even more dim.  Glowing specks began to fly away from it.  Murat slowly walked over and cupped his hands around the orb.

“What’s going on?” Murat asked.

“Well, like I said earlier, once I’m done healing the both of you, I’ll be on the last legs of life,” the orb remarked, although its voice was faint.

“You’re dying?” Murat said.  Tears began to form in his eyes.  He held the orb close to his chest.  “No…”

“Who said anything about dying?” the orb retorted, although it did not sound convincing.  “My energy is just spent and I will have to replenish it.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Ulanbek asked.

“‘Afraid not,” the orb replied.  “I just spent the last of my energy healing both of you, so it would be foolish to give that energy back to me.  You’ll both survive, but you are still in a weakened state.  May I suggest you lay low for a while and not go searching for your compatriots?”

“How do you still have the energy to say so much?” Ulanbek remarked.

“Haha, how indeed,” the orb said.  “My life has been very long and I have said very little over the centuries.  Now that I will be gone for a while, I want to get all the words out before I disappear.”

The orb continued to disintegrate.  Silver flecks flew from where Murat was clutching it and drifted into the air like snowflakes.

“No, wait!” Murat cried.  He reached out, trying to grab the flecks.  They melted in his hand upon contact.  The tears brimming in his eyes rolled down his cheeks.  “Come back!”

Don’t worry, a voice whispered in both Murat and Ulanbek’s heads.  I’ll be back.  I just don’t know when…

Murat fell to his knees and began to sniffle.  He covered his face with his hands and trembled.  Ulanbek’s expression softened and he walked over.  He crouched and carefully wrapped his arms around Murat, holding him in a gentle embrace.  Murat sobbed into Ulanbek’s chest and gripped his tattered red robe.  After a few minutes, Murat’s breathing calmed down enough so that he could form words again.

He looked up at Ulanbek with eyes full of worry.  “What will we do now?  We’re on our own.”